Platinum Soul
by AdrianQ
Summary: Sophia Milena has a relatively average life. She goes to work, gets paid, pays the bills and repeat; but her life turns upside down when a wanted serial killer finds her way into Osaka. Sophia must band together with Josiah Joestar and the Speedwagon Foundation to stop Akiko once and for all, before any more innocent people's lives can be claimed. AU of White Noise. O hiatus.
1. It Has To Start Somewhere

Akiko Mikami remained still on a worn out sofa, an odd ethereal warmth laying over her as she turned her head as the stuffing in the cushions squeezed out. A light green nurse's mask had covered a majority of her face, barely leaving any room for what looked to be the ends of an elongated scar stretching across her pale face.

"What do you want, Norisuke?" Akiko asked dryly, digging out the dirt from underneath her fingernails as the apparition made itself known. "You better not be bothering me with some useless horseshit again."

"No, I was only wondering what you were up to," Norisuke spoke quietly, his voice comparable to a squeak. "It's very cold out, are you not bothered?"

"This sounds like useless horse shit," Akiko groaned and rolled her eyes. "I can't do anything to draw attention to myself just yet. I figured you had already gotten that through your thick skull of yours the first time we had this little chat."

"Y-you're right," the ghost stuttered and backed away. "I'm sorry. I'll go elsewhere, love."

Akiko barely mustered a shrug as the apparition faded. "Good god, you're going to nag me to death."

* * *

Blistering cold winds bit into Sophia Milena's skin as she marched through the streets of Osaka, her brown leather boots dragging through the snow covered sidewalk slowly but surely. Her cheeks were a bright red and she could see her breath with ease, her light brown hair flowing in the rain.

"You just _had _to walk to work today, didn't you, Sophia?" She mumbled under her breath as she clutched her jacket tightly, her fingers growing numb in their gloves while cars passed by her slowly. "I'm already halfway there, so it's too late now… ugh, maybe I should have just taken the risk of crashing my car."

"Hey!" A smooth voice called out to her, and she nearly squeaked as she felt someone place a hand gently on her shoulder. "Whoa, it's just me! No need to freak out!"

Sophia felt her heart race but turned to see Josiah standing next to her, covered head to toe in his own winter apparel; she sighed heavily and shook her head, though surprised that he had also decided to walk to work in the bitter cold, and snow had been stuck in his combed over dark brown hair.

"JoJo, you shouldn't sneak up like that! I could have… I don't know, but it wouldn't have been good!" She pouted and started to drag her feet again, this time with Josiah following close behind. "You can only make it up to me if you give me half of your Christmas bonus!"

"Like hell I will!" Josiah argued back with a slight smile. "Maybe you should just be more observant of your surroundings. It's not my fault you were startled!"

"Humph." Sophia shook her head steadily. "I only accept apologies in cash, not dumb excuses! You should know me better by now."

"Oh, whatever, you nerd." Josiah rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Are you still on for tomorrow night?"

"If we're not snowed in, sure." Sophia nodded happily. "Work's been so busy that I haven't been able to make any set in stone plans with you, so I'm really excited!"

Josiah and Sophia continued their exchange and distracted themselves from the vicious cold until they came upon their office building; Josiah held the door open for Sophia and allowed her entry, though she frowned as she exited the first hallway and onto the floor.

"Ugh." Sophia grunted quietly and made her way to her cubicle, which had an assortment of items ranging from family photos to birthday cards. She gripped the headphone cord that had been hanging off the side of the desk, setting the headset in front of the desktop computer.

"Just think about this, we only have about eight and a half hours before we go home." Josiah said sarcastically as he hung his coat around the back of his chair before showing her a smile. "We'll be off for two days, so that isn't too bad, right?"

Sophia rolled her eyes. "And then we have to come right back and do it all over again."

"You don't want Kosei to hear you talk like that," Josiah whispered, pressing a finger to his lips. "He might just fire you on the spot."

"Like that'd be such a bad thing," Sophia sighed and plopped into her seat, her fingers shifting toward the keyboard. "At least it's payday."

* * *

The day had felt as slow as it did agonizing, though the office had kept Sophia warm. She had spent hours watching groups of workers leave their seats, anxiously waiting for her turn to leave. She felt as though she could scream in celebration once it was time to clock out, her chair pushed into the desk and her purse hanging around her arm.

"I need a drink." Sophia mumbled under her breath.

"You and me both," Josiah nodded as he pulled his jacket on. "But I don't think it's a great idea to get wasted while the weather is so shitty."

"A stiff drink won't hurt." Sophia shrugged and walked toward the door, though she could see Josiah frowning for a split second. "Huh?"

"If you're gonna insist on drinking, then I'm gonna come with you," Josiah insisted. "Like I said, drinking alone in this kind of weather isn't the best idea."

_There's no point in arguing with him. _Sophia thought as she merely nodded and continued on her way, opening the office door to head out into the cold night. The sun had set an hour or so ago, so she would have to keep her eyes peeled.

It was now only snowing lightly though the sidewalks were still mostly covered with snow, the roads forming ice. The night seemed quiet empty and pitch black as she could only hear the distant sounds of traffic moving throughout the highway and the bright lights of the shopping district.

Sophia and Josiah had stopped by a bar known as the Moon Tower, which seemed to be devoid from the usual population; it was known for being quite lively, especially at night, but only a dozen or so people had been there that night.

"See? Everyone else knows that it's not safe." Josiah said, attempting to emphasize his earlier point. "We should just go home."

"Oh, hush," Sophia laughed lightly and shook her head. "You can be my designated, uh… walker, I guess; besides, it's cheap!"

"Hey, don't try to run off my customers." The bartender said as he smiled a bit playfully. "But, your lady friend is right. What would you like?"

"I'll just have a lemon sour, I think." Sophia said and the bartender nodded, "I guess this big guy over here will have a water."

Josiah shrugged. "Sounds fine to me."

"Alright, so a lemon sour for the American girl and a water for the killjoy, got it!" The bartender turned his back, leaving Sophia to chuckle as Josiah ran his hands down his face. "I'll just be a minute."

Sophia slid onto the seat in front of her and looked to the left, almost gasping at the sight in front of her; there had been a woman who was slightly shorter than herself with long, bright red hair that reached her hips. But, what had distracted her was the mechanical left arm sticking out from her shoulder.

The woman turned, her eyes widening slightly. "Oh, uh… color me surprised. You can see my prosthetic?"

"What do you mean I can…" Sophia started to speak though she could see the bartender look at the other woman with a bit of confusion before sliding the drinks to her and Josiah. "Oh."

"You gonna tell me I shouldn't be drinking alone, buddy?" She asked Josiah before taking a sip out from her glass. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

"Yeah, uh… anyway," Josiah's eyes slipped from left to right and only took glimpses of the prosthetic arm as he spoke nervously, "What's your name?"

"My name's Taiga, but," She pressed her lips to her glass again. "You better not stare too hard, it bites."

Sophia moved to speak but only a shriek left as a loud pop filled the bar, prompting Josiah to quickly summon a strange figure. It had been at least six feet tall with a muscular stature, its face bearing two large grey eyes with a singular antenna sticking out its head; its hands each had five lines running underneath its skin with five long wires extending out from its knuckles.

Whoever was in the bar had decided to immediately run to the outside, with Sophia being carried along by Josiah; she only saw Taiga for what seemed like a quick glimpse before being rushed out into the cold.

Her vision went blurry as she saw what seemed to be a man lying lifeless on the ground by the bar, pistol in hand with a wound starting at the neck. She immediately turned her head to see businessmen running out from the bar.

Josiah wrapped an arm around her as they both rushed away in silence among the panic, steering clear of the crowd. The night became madness until all quietened down, the two soon reaching Sophia's home.

"Do you need anything?"

"Huh?" Sophia blinked, her hands shaking. "I, uh, I don't know. I don't think so. I'm just kinda freaked out."

"Yeah." Josiah nodded in agreement, wiping sweat from his brow. "I'm gonna need to sit down for a while. I'm sure the police will handle everything."

"Mhm," Sophia turned around and placed her hand on the knob to the front door. "O-on a different note, that Taiga girl had a Stand. That bartender looked at us like we were crazy."

"I didn't expect to see that," Josiah replied. "The only people I know with Stands are you, my mom and gramps. Small world, huh?"

"Yep." Sophia shivered. "I'm gonna go head in now. Be sure to lock your doors and everything when you get home, okay, JoJo?"

"You got it, Sophia." Josiah smirked and took a few steps back. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, looking forward to it."

Sophia smiled sweetly. "Me too! Goodnight, JoJo!"

"Goodnight!"

* * *

"Goodness, that was a little too close." A smooth, silky voice muttered beneath the sound of screams. Soft hands ran through now unkempt black hair, sweat sliding down the side of his head as he slid back into the darkness of an alleyway. "They're all so annoying, though."

He stared out into the panicked mass, the sound of police sirens growing ever closer as he sighed and removed a comb from his pocket and tucked his dark hair back neatly.

"And messy like rats."

* * *

Josiah hummed quietly as he opened the door to his apartment and slipped the key into his pocket. He stopped suddenly, his ears twitching while his free hand stretched towards the light switch.

"I'm pretty sure I just heard someone move," Josiah said loudly, his fingers only mere centimeters from the switch. "You're gonna need a good damn reason for breaking into my apartment."

The lights flickered on to reveal a rather muscular man standing by his sofa, his nose had been pushed slightly inward and there had been a faded scar on his left cheek. He jumped in shock, mist swirling around his body.

"Look, I ain't here to cause any trouble!" He raised both of his hands, the mist clinging tight to his frame as he sank to his knees. "I'm just here lookin' for some help! You're a Joestar, aren't you?"

Josiah's eyebrows lifted quizzically, the familiar figure from the bar appearing by his side while he carefully walked toward the man. "Yeah, I'm a Joestar. If you're a burglar, you're gonna be disappointed to hear that I work an office job."

"No, I'm not a burglar!" He shook his head quickly. "Look, you're probably gonna attack me if I move a muscle. I need help looking for my daughter! I have a photo in my left pants pocket!"

"You know my last name so that makes me wanna believe you. You can take the photo out," Josiah did not move an inch. "If you try anything funny my Stand will have to get involved."

The man's breathing slowed as the mist dissipated, his hand reaching into pocket before sliding the photo over to Josiah. He picked it up and turned it over, it had been a photo of a rather young woman with short blonde hair and bright green eyes.

"My name is Walt, and that's my daughter, Dolores." Walt kept his head down to the floor as he spoke, his muscular body beginning to quake. "I called the police and they haven't found jack shit, so I tried to find a way to contact the Speedwagon Foundation, but they wouldn't answer any of my calls."

Josiah stared at the photo and nodded along, listening intently. "The Speedwagon Foundation doesn't look into missing person cases unless it really bugs them, even though they easily outclass the police in terms of equipment."

"That's why they need to look into this. I think this is the work of some kind of gang or maybe a Stand ability," Walt explained. "I know that Irene Joestar works for the foundation, but I couldn't find anything on social media. I found you instead by sheer luck."

"You must be pretty desperate, then." Josiah withdrew his Stand and sighed. "I'll give my mom a call but there's no guarantee that they're gonna look into this for you, but… I'll see if I can pull a few strings for you."

"Thank you!" Walt bowed his head repeatedly to the man, tearing up. "I'm going to head back to my place, so I'll see you-"

"No, don't worry about it, man." Josiah shook his head and pointed at the sofa. "Just hit the couch, we're cool now."

"Are you sure?" Walt asked as he stood, his legs clearly shaking still. "It's really not a big deal for me to walk back home."

"It's also not a big deal to just let you sleep on my couch." Josiah insisted in an almost stern tone, patting the sofa. "Trust me, it's better than going back out there."

"Well, alright." Walt bowed his head for what seemed like the millionth time. "Thank you, sir!"

"Don't have to call me sir, but you're welcome."

* * *

The words WINTER STORM ADVISORY flashed on the bottom of the television as the news anchor came into focus.

"We come to you tonight with a status report on one of our ongoing stories," the news anchor spoke, her hands folded over the table as a photo of a young woman with short black hair and a nurse mask appeared next to her. "Wanted criminal Akiko Mikami has still not been found after escaping from solitary confinement at the Osaka Correctional Facility. If you see anyone with large, graphic scars on each side of their mouth mouth or if they look similar to this photo of the woman with the nurse mask, please report it to the police. Thank you very much."

Shinnosuke pressed the power button to his television and bit away at his chipped fingernails, his hands shaking as he stared at his hardwood floor and then to the table with what appeared to be a pile of empty pages.

"H-how am I supposed to focus on my work when all this crazy stuff is going on?"


	2. Transit Blues

The next evening had started as smoothly that both Sophia and Josiah had hoped, despite the previous night; the roads and sidewalks had been cleared of snow though the bitter air had not budged even slightly, so they had still been dressed from head to toe to protect themselves from the bite of the cold.

"I don't think I've ever been to Ichimatsu before," Josiah said before he picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. "Guess I got lucky since I picked it randomly."

"So, wait," Sophia laughed and ran her finger around her nearly empty bowl of noodles, "you decided to take a girl out on a date to a place you've never been? That doesn't seem too smart."

Josiah shrugged and pushed his own dish forward. "I mean, hey, it worked out for the best didn't it? I'd say I have the intuition of a genius."

"Yeah," Sophia rolled her eyes and chuckled. "I'm sure that's exactly what it is. Did you wanna do anything else tonight?"

"We could try to catch a movie but it's getting a little late," Josiah raised his glass of water to his lips. "But, I've been wondering… are you feeling okay? You've been a bit more tired than usual, lately."

Sophia could barely muster the strength to shake her head or say no for a moment. Her shoulders burned as if there were weights being pressed down onto them, she was stifling yawns every few minutes, and her legs felt as if they were going to collapse from underneath her. It was distracting.

"What? Me, tired? Nope, sorry!" Sophia shook her head, her eyes practically begging to be shut as she stared down at her feet. "That job is a piece of cake and definitely doesn't stress me out one bit, I'm hunky dory!"

Josiah shot a concerned glance and set his drink on the table. "Neither of us like it there, you know. Maybe we should just try looking for new jobs."

"What else is there?" Sophia leaned on her arm, the bags underneath her eyes becoming noticeable. "There aren't a lot of options open to us, and besides, it pays really well. I don't think I'd be able to afford to pay my bills for long if I quit."

"Maybe we could move in together."

"Huh?" Sophia felt her mind trail off at the very suggestion of such a thing, her cheeks suddenly burning with a bright pink color. Absentmindedly, one of her hands had started to move through her hair as she looked down at her feet. "I mean, um… uh…"

"I know that's a bit of a strong suggestion; but, it would benefit the both of us in the long run, I think." Josiah explained. "We could split the bill and support each other, work things out together."

_It's not that I hate the idea, I just… _Sophia felt her hands tremble while she attempted to compose herself. _Being around Josiah every single day, I would be sleeping in the same place as him. Isn't this moving a little too fast?_

"You don't have to give me a yes or no right now or anything," Josiah said and scratched the side of his head. "I'm sorry, I don't want you to feel like you're being pressured into something."

"No no, it's fine, really!" Sophia shook her head, smiling nervously. "I would love to be your roommate, but I just don't know. It feels a little too soon is all."

"Right, right," Josiah agreed and slid out from his seat and Sophia followed suit. "We should probably get ourselves home."

"I wouldn't mind spending a little more time around town," Sophia spoke softly, though the sun had already set. She reached her hand downward and intertwined her fingers with Josiah's, gripping tightly for a moment. "Let's go to the park."

* * *

The night sky had covered Osaka like a blanket, the couple had been using the lights from their cellphones to lead the way throughout the park. Snow painted the black pine trees as well as the ground, crunching underneath their shoes as they stopped underneath one of the enormous trees.

Sophia pressed her back to the bark and yawned into her hand, looking toward Josiah who had slipped his phone into his pants pocket. She slid her thumb down her phone, but her vision shifted upward as she felt a hand move past her face.

"Oh," Sophia said, noticing that Josiah had been looking down at her. She pocketed her phone and gave an awkward smile. "Hi there."

"Hey." Josiah greeted her softly and leaned in a little. "I missed being able to spend time with you like this."

"Yeah, me too." Sophia murmured as she leaned forward as well - but, suddenly her eyes darted from left to right while her dream-like smile faded. "Did you hear that?"

Josiah shook his head and pulled away as slowly as he could, his head turning as he heard a grunt in the distance. He steadily moved away from the tree which left Sophia to follow him as they dragged their feet through the snow.

The two pressed their backs to the next tree that had been closest to them, then peeked over to their right. There had been a man with shoulder length light brown hair, with a beanie and a set of black jeans and a black coat hugging his body; next to him had been two men that had to have been at least one foot taller than him, one of them holding his arms back while the other slammed his fist against the side of his face.

Without a moment of hesitation, a portly figure manifested by Sophia's side. It had been adorned in what looked to be a knight's armor, though its stature did not fit and it held a small dagger; it pointed forward toward the assailant that had been holding the man, and a tiny blue dot floated toward him.

It had arrived by the side of his head and slowly opened up, Sophia's fist rocketing out of it and pressing hard against the attacker's head which had knocked him backward, forcing him to free the man from his grip.

Downplay appeared next to Josiah and two of the wires hanging from its knuckles extended forward and grabbed the second attacker by his legs, slamming him against the tree with enough force to make it shake violently and had effectively knocked the man unconscious.

Sophia and Josiah carefully walked out from underneath the tree and toward the man who had looked rather shocked, his body still shaking and he couldn't muster a single word out from his mouth. Sophia peeked over his shoulder to see that her attack had been successful as well, he had been knocked out cold.

"H-hey, uh…" he mumbled, his teeth chattering as he wrapped his arms around his own chest. "I a-appreciate the help and I don't know if I'm just hallucinating, but you guys w-were using Stands, right?"

"You could see St. Peter?" Sophia asked and he nodded as the Stand was made visible once more, along with Josiah's. "Well, I guess that helps in the long run, but we should really help you home before these two guys wake up."

"Yeah, we can talk about this later." Josiah said as he and Sophia both withdrew their Stands, each of them placing a hand on the man's shoulders. "What's your name?"

"Y-you can just call me Shinnosuke."

Sophia tilted her head slightly, pressing her index finger to her lips briefly. _Hm. That name sounds familiar._

"I'll go ahead and call an ambulance so these two aren't just left here in the cold," Josiah dialed 911 and pressed the phone to his ear. "We can get going after."

Shinnosuke had helped direct them towards his home, which had been isolated from a majority of the city and made entirely out of wood. It wasn't too large, though upon entry they could see there had been two locked doors in his living room, as well as a television set placed apart from the sofa and his two recliner chairs.

"Thank you for helping me, Josiah and Sophia. I thought those muggers were gonna kill me." Shinnosuke bowed his head to the couple. "Is there anything I can do to repay you? I don't have much, but…"

"No, that's fine." Josiah declined immediately. "You're already worn thin as it is, so don't even think about trying to reward us. More importantly, you said you could see our Stands so I'm assuming you have one of your own."

"Something like that, except I call it a Wound." Shinnosuke said as a smaller black pine tree appeared behind him, roots climbing out and moving toward his two visitors. "It's not something I really summon, it just randomly appears when I'm stressed out. It helps me draw my manga."

"What is this thing doing?" Sophia asked as the roots wrapped around her ankles, her mind becoming less and less cloudy over the next few moments. "Whoa… it's like it's just trying it's best to keep me relaxed!"

Josiah laid his head back for a moment, though he could see another pair of roots branching out toward a table with a stack of paper with only frames drawn onto it. Black ink dripped from the tips of the roots, forming a basic outline of a female character.

"I have a hard time drawing Romance in Pink, especially since I keep redoing the same thing over and over again. I never get anywhere, so that's where my Wound comes in. I call it Lust For Life." Shinnosuke explained as the roots started to detract, the tree disappearing just as quickly as it had appeared.

"That's how I know you!" Sophia yelled excitedly, nearly jumping out of her seat as she gave a wide grin. "You draw Romance in Pink, that's my favorite manga of all time! I love your art so much!"

"O-oh, uh… thank you!" Shinnosuke smiled earnestly, bowing his head a second time. "Lust For Life sucks out negative thoughts and feelings and communicates them to the pages of my manga. That's probably why it looks a bit, uh… terrifying, for lack of a better term."

"For something you have no control over, that's a really nice gift to have " Josiah praised him. "I can do a few things with Downplay, but nothing really positive aside from punching assholes in the face."

Shinnosuke stood up and headed behind the sofa, his hand turning the knob to one of the shut doors. "Here, I'll show you both my office. I never have visitors, so, it'll be fun!"

Sophia hopped out of her seat excitedly and paced into the room, which had been rather small. There had been a shelf lined with manuscripts on one side of the room, the other containing already published volumes of the manga itself. There had also been a desk with several drawers, the desk itself holding several pages of panels which had barely been touched.

"This is so tidy and professional!" Sophia admired as she eyed the shelves up and down. "I wish I had an office just like this!"

"Yeah, Sophia loves this entire series. I'm pretty sure she even has a poster or two in her bedroom." Josiah chuckled. "I doubt you've ever met an American who loves your work this much."

"I've never really met anyone in general who loves my work this much, if I'm perfectly honest with you. It's inspiring." Shinnosuke wiped sweat from his brow as Sophia moved around the room several times over. "I'm glad you're so interested in it!"

"Of course!" Sophia twirled toward him and placed her hands together. "Can I have your phone number in case I ever wanna check this out again? Please?"

"Well, I'm kind of a shut in and I suck at replying to texts, but I wouldn't mind having some company over every so often." Shinnosuke shrugged nonchalantly and quickly traded phone numbers with her and Josiah both. "I'm trusting you to not give that number away, though. I don't want any unwanted attention."

"We wouldn't do that," Josiah agreed and Sophia nodded along. "But, we should probably get going. It's already late as it is."

"It was nice having you two over for just a little bit, just call or text if you ever want to hang out! Thank you so much for your help earlier!" Shinnosuke thanked them yet again, sweat dripping down the side of his head.

"No need to thank us! Stay safe!" Sophia yelled back and waved goodbye as the two left his study, the front door shutting which had left the mangaka in his lonesome once again.

Shinnosuke closed the door to his study and walked down the hallway to his bedroom, though he couldn't help but notice a figure of some sort underneath his bed. He leaned downward and could only determine that it was a statue of a man hunched over with his eyes shut, which led him to sigh.

"I swear, I throw this thing out every week." Shinnosuke rolled his eyes and steadily pulled it out from underneath the mattress. "My landlord's definitely pulling a prank on me."

* * *

Josiah and Sophia had stopped outside the latter's home, the city lights and street lamps keeping them company throughout the quiet walk home. Sophia rubbed her eyes as she unlocked her door, only turning around once Josiah tapped her shoulder.

"Hey," Sophia murmured before leaning forward, pressing her lips to his for only a fleeting moment. "I really enjoyed tonight even though we got sidetracked, thank you, JoJo."

"You were what made it so great, so I should be thanking you." Josiah ran his fingers through her hair briefly before pulling away. "I hope you have a goodnight, Sophia."

"You too. Goodnight!"


	3. Black Serotonin

"Oh, god."

Warm blood dripped from a woman's mouth, her bright blue eyes twitching as she gawked. Her hands had been holding onto a kitchen knife, her grip painfully tight; the motionless body of a small boy crumpled up beneath her with an open wound gaping at his throat.

Her screams had somehow been muffled, her mouth refusing to open as her hands suddenly turned toward her own neck. She slashed quickly, blood leaking out from the wound as she collapsed onto the corpse below her, her body becoming lifeless in a matter of moments.

"This is probably my new favorite kill, and that's saying something. Impressing myself is quite a feat." a man stepped into the kitchen from seemingly nowhere, his gloved hands wiping his glasses clean with a handkerchief. "I'm sure you won't mind if I borrow this."

He slid his glasses back onto his face and bent a knee, ensuring that the knife was laying still on the woman's open palm. Their corpses were still, but he nearly felt his heart stop as he heard footsteps move down the stairs.

A figure manifested by his side, being at least a head taller than the man himself. A portion of its body had been covered by thick, rusted silver armor at its shoulders, arms, hips, chest, and its legs. Its face was covered only on the left side by a split visor helmet, which had two iron straps that went over the eye and its mouth, the straps connecting. On its left temple, shoulder and the center of its chest had been large, rusted iron shards ripping throughout the armor as well as its flesh, which had looked quite dark, similar to a dehydrated corpse.

"Summoning your Stand like that isn't such a good idea," a feminine voice broke through the air, though the man had been more so distracted by the glasgow smile carved into her head. "You open yourself up."

"What the fuck are you?" He asked, unsettled slightly though he had kept his Stand active. It pointed a finger toward Akiko and a thin copper string shot toward her but broke in mid air. "Huh?"

"I should be asking the questions, since you took my prey right from under my nose." Akiko stated as a crimson red aura engulfed her entire body. "What are you doing here, pretty boy? You would have to be a very selfish man to steal what belongs to me."

"Pest control." He replied flatly and withdrew his Stand, he took a step back but made sure to keep his eyes glued to her face. "You're that wanted killer that the police are looking for. Akiko Mikami, I presume?"

"That's right," Akiko grinned, her scars moving fluidly. "I haven't heard a single thing about a British man killing innocent people. What are you going to do to make sure I don't kill you, or am I going to have to leave your corpse here for the cops?"

He felt his stomach churn with that threat. _Love & Meth's ability didn't have a single effect on her, so I will have to rely on diplomacy. Don't leave yourself open, Damon… you aren't backed into a corner, she merely believes she has you stuck like a trapped animal._

"How about we make a deal? I'll even give you a piece of advice as to why killing me would be a bad idea." Damon offered and Akiko tilted her head. "If we go our separate ways, we don't say a word about any of this. If you fight me and you do kill me, you'll only leave a piece of evidence for the police to use to track you down… and I'm sure if I say a single word, you could find me and kill me with ease."

"Looks like you're a smart cookie, and you're right on the money. But, I do have one last question," Akiko clapped her hands together as the aura around her body faded. "Do you think I'm pretty?"

Damon remained silent and walked past Akiko slowly, his gloved hand turned the doorknob to the darkness of the outside world. He shut the door carefully behind him, leaving Akiko to smirk while she placed her nurse mask back where it belonged.

"Good answer," she sighed and kicked the woman's dead body. "but you're an idiot if you think the law is what I'm worried about."

* * *

Night faded and morning came as quickly as it could. Josiah Joestar and Walt Mizushima had spent their respective mornings signing paperwork and using the elevator of the Speedwagon Foundation. Irene Joestar sat behind her desk, her fingers running through her green highlights as Josiah explained the situation.

Irene looked anything but amused, her arms crossed. "You're really going to make me put the investigation of an active serial killer on hold just to help this stranger find his missing daughter? Where do you think my priorities lie?"

"I think your heart is in the right place, but your priorities should be helping whoever and whenever you can." Josiah protested, leaning out of the seat. "What if this is apart of the same case?"

"All the victims have been found in their homes, no one has gone missing as of yet." Irene shook her head in disapproval and turned to Walt. "It doesn't add up, so, give me a single reason as to why I should forsake government work for this one case."

"My daughter had a Stand," Walt argued and stood up. "I don't think some random nobody would be able to take somebody down with a Stand so easily!"

Irene did not say a word, though she looked rather surprised once the door to her office was pushed open to reveal a much older man in a white coat and white dress pants, his black hair barely touching his neck.

"Gramps," Josiah blinked as if to readjust his eyes, almost at a loss for words. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to put some sense into your mother." Jothan said matter-of-factly. "Irene, the police and the Japanese government are already working on finding Akiko's whereabouts. If what Walt says is true, this could prove to be an issue for the foundation as well."

"Akiko has already killed at least a dozen people since she escaped!" Irene pushed her chair to the side and slammed her hands on the desk. "She's even somehow framed them to look like suicide, and we don't know how she managed to escape in the first place! If there are any Stand users that we should be worried about, it's her!"

"Okay, you can go about your business as you please." Jothan replied and turned to face his son. "But we will go about ours as we please, without you; let's go Josiah, Walt."

Walt bowed his head to the man several times, nearly on the edge of tears at his sudden agreement. "Thank you so much, sir!"

Jothan opened the door to the office for the two men. "You may want to call whoever before we head to the basement, you'll lose reception."

"Jesus…" Irene groaned after the three exited the room, her hands running down her face as she nearly screamed in frustration. "I can't fucking believe my own family sometimes."

* * *

"Hello? Why are you calling me so early, JoJo?"

Josiah involuntarily smiled once Sophia's voice broke through the cell phone, the trio stepping into the closest elevator they could find. Jothan pressed the buttons and they were now in motion, with Walt standing at the back in total silence.

"I just wanna let you know I'm gonna be gone for a little while today, I'm helping my grandpa and a friend of mine with some business," Josiah said, though his smile transformed into a frown. "I'm about to lose reception, but if I don't answer any calls by this evening, then I want you to come down to the Speedwagon Foundation and ask for my mother, okay?"

"JoJo, what do you think you're doing?" Sophia sighed heavily. "Every time you do this, you always get into some trouble. If you don't answer any calls in the next three hours, I'm coming down and finding you."

"Well, I can't really tell you no." Josiah laughed lightly and Sophia joined in, the connection now starting to wear thin as the sound started to `crack`. "I'll call you later, Sophia. See ya."

The elevator came to a stop after a minute or so passed and Jothan led the two into the basement which had been housing several storage units. Their footsteps echoed throughout the hall, making a few turns before eventually making their way to a unit that Jothan slowly opened up.

"We keep this thing locked up tight, but if we're going to find whoever it is that kidnapped your daughter, it'll help us track the bastard." Jothan stepped foot into the empty storage unit and pulled an ID card from his coat pocket, raising it high in the air as several cameras attached to the walls focused in on him. "Don't follow me unless you like being shot!"

"Pretty damn good reason not to follow," Walt mumbled under his breath, the sound of chains clattering against the floor becoming audible. "I'm wondering what the hell kind of device he could have to track somebody he's never even met, though."

"I'm not sure either," Josiah gazed almost blankly into the unit, only to be met with Jothan's footsteps which had been growing louder. "I know for a fact that it's not his Stand's ability."

"You're right." Jothan answered as he exited from the darkness, holding what looked to be an arrow in his left hand but the head of it had been golden, encrusted with three navy blue gemstones. "We keep this arrow on lockdown at all times, nobody except the foundation knows about it. After some testing, it has a few different abilities but we've found it can even track down Stand users; for example, look at this."

Jothan pointed the arrow to the unit before it suddenly swung around, switching its direction from Josiah to Walt incessantly. It was as if it had a mind of its own, moving much like a metal detector before Jothan finally pulled it away from the duo.

"That'll definitely help us find my daughter, but I've been searching the city for weeks and I haven't found anything." Walt's shoulders slumped. "Are you sure she's even still here? What if he took her somewhere else?"

"I'll have to get a little creative, then." Jothan replied and slipped his phone out of his coat pocket, quickly dialing a number for pressing it to his ear. "Hey, prepare the boat. I'm going to need it for an investigation."

"Uh," Josiah squinted, his face almost expressionless. "Boat?"

"Yeah, you heard me." Jothan placed the phone back into his pocket. "Now, let's get moving and hope we can sneak up on the bastard."

* * *

Jothan brought the two over to Osaka Bay, where two Speedwagon employees had been standing by a speedboat tied to the dock. They took a single look at Jothan before nodding and stepping away, allowing the trio entry.

"There's a small island not too far from this bay," Jothan informed as he raised the arrow into the air and watched as it pointed directly to the east. "It looks like the arrow's got something on its radar."

"Here's hoping we find someone then." Josiah stepped into the speedboat and took a seat, with Walt following after him. "I assume the speedboat is so the Stand user won't see us coming."

"Right, I didn't want to use any of the bigger ones," Jothan said and pulled three paddles from the bottom of the boat then handed two of them to Josiah and Walt. "When we get close, we'll have to start paddling so they don't hear us."

"Makes enough sense to me," Walt said as Jothan started up the boat, heading directly to the east. "We'll have to keep our Stands at the ready once we get there."

Ten or so minutes passed until Jothan slowed down, forcing the three of them to paddle along the bay until eventually coming across the island. It had been rather small, housing a building that was rusted green with steel doors, each having a handlebar on the left and right.

It had been devoid of any people as far as they could see once they finally stepped onto the ground, the bright sun directly shining onto them as they walked forward. Walt had a light fog wrapping around his body while Josiah summoned Downplay to his side, while Jothan's Stand manifested as well.

It had been well over eight feet tall and had a sleek, black metallic body. It had small bits of rust hanging off its arms and legs, as if its skin was starting to chip away, its head having two purple orbs for eyes as well as a small nose that pointed downwards and it had lacked a mouth. It had a large, golden J embedded into its chest cavity.

Jothan lifted up the arrow which had pointed directly at the mysterious building, nearly pulling itself free from the old man's grip before he had managed to lower his arm back down almost forcefully.

"Josiah, you and Walt should search as a team." Jothan advised and walked ahead of them, his Stand balling up its fists once he reached the door. "Hey Jude will be enough to aid me, but make sure to try and reach me if you find anything or anyone. Got it?"

Josiah nodded as a silent confirmation and watched as Hey Jude reeled its fists back before beating them once against the steel doors which had resulted them in blowing into the interior of the building.

Jothan ran inside and moved to the left, the other two instantly making a mad dash for the right. They could hear the clattering of footsteps from somewhere far deep into the building, though they moved past what seemed to be the lobby and forced their way through a doorway.

Walt started to make swimming motions with his hands and started to float in the air, moving alongside Josiah before outpacing him a little. "Don't worry, Dolores! We're coming!"

* * *

Alarms rang loudly as the pounding of steel toed boots echoed throughout the halls, a man sat alone in his dimly lit office. He had been wearing a black suit with a white tie, his brown hair unkempt. He wore two black leather gloves which matched with his jeans as well as his boots which were now marching toward the door.

By his side, an entirely shadow-like figure had manifested with only having a large maw with razor sharp teeth sticking out as if they did not fit inside of its mouth. The clattering of boots came to a sudden halt as he opened the door, only to see that several of the men had been knocked to the side.

_You can't refer to any numbers in conversation._

He clutched the side of the head as a genderless voice broke through his thoughts, and then stepped out to see Walt and Josiah stopping in their tracks once he had made himself and his Stand known.

"So, I must assume you are here to take the girl home and to do away with me?" He asked as a black aura enveloped his body. "My name is Daichi and I must tell you of my Social Distortion's ability; every minute, it creates a new rule and I must tell you of that said rule. If it is disobeyed, you will be punished by the Stand… right now, you must not refer to any sort of numbers while you speak, as long as you are within my Stand's range."

"So, you're the one who took my daughter?!" Walt yelled as he charged ahead with the fog still wrapped around his chest while an afterimage appeared next to him. He tossed a fist, only for Daichi to move to the side and Social Distortion to give a direct headbutt to his ribcage. "What?!"

Walt luckily landed on his feet and Josiah kept his distance, while Daichi remained in place with his Stand flicking its snake-like tongue from right to left. Downplay shot its wires forward and wrapped around Daichi's wrist and pulled him forward, only for Social Distortion to lunge toward the robotic Stand, its teeth sinking deep into its right elbow.

"Shit!" Josiah grunted and tossed a fist toward Daichi who narrowly dodged, freeing Downplay of Social Distortion's tight grip. Josiah placed a hand on his shoulder as blood trickled down his back and winced from the piercing sensation. "I don't understand why you had to tell us your Stand's ability, but it doesn't matter. All we have to do is be a little more careful."

"If I don't tell you about the rule, I'm punished as well." Daichi said and glanced at Walt, who suddenly wrapped his arms around his waist from behind and started to lift him into the air. "Now, what do you think you're doing?!"

Walt stopped moving as Social Distortion opened its maw once more, only to be met with a right hook from Downplay which sent Daichi flying over the man's shoulder. Downplay's wires extended and wrapped around Daichi's wrists and ankles before pinning him against the wall, near one of his unconscious men.

"You're going to tell me what you planned on doing with my daughter." Walt said flatly and smacked Daichi across the face with little hesitation. "I'll beat the answer out of you if I have to, so you better get talking!"

"How the hell did you find me?" Daichi ignored him before being met with a second hard smack, the side of his face turning a bright red. "I'm going to guess that you two have something to do with one of the arrows."

Josiah's brow lifted slightly. "Why would that matter?"

"Whether you answer my question or not doesn't matter," Daichi grinned almost happily, his face almost devoid of all malice. "I'm going to do away with the two of you and take that arrow. Idiots such as yourselves could never handle it, let alone understand it."

* * *

Grunts and distant yells echoed down the hall and all the way to a cell, holding what looked to be a young woman with chafed wrists from handcuffs attached to each side. Her eyes darted from side to side as a strand of saliva slowly seeped from her bottom lip.

_There you go, Dolores. _She thought as a blade shaped from her spit, her hand latching onto a newly formed handle as it easily cleaved through her confines - she then dashed forward and the blade easily slashed through the bars, effectively freeing her.

She looked down the hallway to see a rather tall and well dressed man's fist being slung against a gang member's nose, knocking him to the side. His eyes widened once he spotted Dolores, his Stand suddenly manifesting.

"Hey, I assume you're Dolores!" Jothan yelled down the hallway and remained still. "We came here with your father to get you, but this place is a bit overrun with these guys. Can you defend yourself?"

"Yeah." Dolores gulped and nodded, raising her blade which suddenly transfigured into a puddle of spit. "Did you say my father is here?!"

"You heard me right, but we still have to find him and my grandson before we can leave this place." Jothan informed her as she started to approach him. "Just be sure to follow me!"

Dolores shrugged and ran behind him, keeping her hand wet with her own saliva as she rushed down the hallway, only able to hope in her father was faring well.

* * *

Social Distortion shot forward and latched its jaws onto one of the wires holding Daichi captive, leaving Josiah to shout and pull the wire back into Downplay's knuckle; Daichi jumped forward, his foot pushing against Josiah's gut and shoved him away.

_You can't breathe with your eyes open._

"You should shut your eyes," Daichi said as his eyes shut tightly, not even twitching as Social Distortion ran its arms past his shoulders. "My Stand has just informed me that you may not breathe while you open your eyes."

Josiah took a breath as he grabbed his waist, only to look on as Social Distortion blazed forward like a bullet - and he could only feel his flesh and bones tear as its unhinged jaw bit and locked its razor sharp teeth into his hand. It could barely taste the blood as it gulped that, as well as his middle and index fingers into its gullet.

"FUCK!" Josiah fell to his knees and shut his eyes tightly, blood quickly moving out from the open wound. He could barely focus on whatever it was that Walt had been saying in response as he merely gripped his hand, now growing wet with the blood. "Goddamn it… Walt, just take this guy down in one hit!"

"I don't think I can." Walt said bluntly, every bone in his body rattling as Josiah groaned and screamed. "I can't hear that Stand whenever it moves… goddamn it, think… there has to be a way to put this son of a bitch down!"

"Only I am worthy of leading this world to peace, so it is only natural that two hooligans such as yourselves were so easily dealt with." Daichi gave a smug smirk as his pitch black aura enveloped his body. "It only makes sense that a leader such as myself would triumph-"

He stopped speaking, and instead, a gurgling noise emitted from his throat before his body fell to the floor. Josiah and Walt peeled their eyes open to see a dagger embedded straight through it, the latter moving to pick Josiah off the ground and put his arm around his shoulder.

"Josiah!" Jothan yelled and ran for his grandson, assisting Walt. "What happened? We came as fast as we could."

"That goddamn Stand ate my fingers," Josiah coughed, his gaze remaining steady as if he had been refusing to stare at the wound. "I think I'm gonna need to go to the hospital… fuck, Sophia is gonna freak out."

Walt looked forward to see his own daughter standing next to Daichi's corpse; as if on command, tears streamed from his face as he ran forward, his arms extended before trapping Dolores in a bear hug.

"I knew you were a strong girl! I'm so proud of you!" He cried into her shoulder as she reluctantly tapped his shoulder. "I-I was so worried!"

"I'm really glad you came, dad…" Dolores murmured and glanced towards the other two. "But we should save this for later, it looks like your friend needs help. And you're squeezing me a little bit too hard."

* * *

Josiah had been checked into the hospital immediately, the wound having been taken care of in record time. Sophia sat next to him with an almost hateful glare in her eyes, her thumbs twiddling as the doctor came in every so often to check up on him.

"I would be a little more careful, it looks like you worried your friend here to death." The doctor stated. "Unfortunately, since your fingers can't be found, we can't really attach them back. There may be hope for some prosthetic digits after you've fully healed, however."

"Robot fingers sound fine to me," Josiah nodded and stared at his hand, before frowning. "But shit, this hurts to look at."

"That's what you get for being so reckless!" Sophia shouted and crossed her arms. "I swear to the Lord Himself, you need someone to watch you at all times!"

The doctor slipped away from the two as they argued, though they stopped talking as Jothan walked into the room by himself, waving nonchalantly with a frown on his face. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Well, they wanna give me prosthetics, so I won't have to deal with this for too long." Josiah chuckled and stretched his three digits. "Did you just come here to check up on me? How's mom?"

"Your mother isn't surprised in the least but she refuses to speak with me about this case for the most part," Jothan shrugged. "But, I did look further into the deal with that Daichi guy. We found another arrow in that base."

"A-arrow?" Sophia stuttered and blinked. "Uh, am I allowed to hear this?"

"I don't see why not since Josiah trusts you." Jothan replied without missing a beat. "We found a second arrow, the design on the arrowhead is a little different than the one we already had kept in the base. That was probably why we could track him, since the two arrows seem as if they're attracted to each other… they directly point at one another no matter how you move them."

"That's a little weird, but we don't even know what these arrows can even do yet." Josiah rubbed his chin. "But you're looking a little grim, what's up with that?"

"I need you to promise me you'll be as safe as possible from here on out." Jothan said, his shoulders appearing to stiffen. "The string of murders is increasing in number with no visible signs of a struggle, all looking to be suicide… but it's very well possible this could be the work of a Stand user."

"I saw that on the news earlier!" Sophia spoke, rubbing her throat slowly. "People think it's some sort of suicide cult, which I almost want to believe. A Stand user makes this a lot more dangerous."

"What do I do if I just happen to run into them by accident? Fight them?" Josiah asked, to which Jothan merely shook his head. "Run, yeah… yeah, that makes sense. Fighting a serial killer isn't exactly on my to-do list."

"Irene and I have come to the conclusion it's that woman named Akiko Mikami that recently escaped from prison, so that should give you a decent idea of what she looks like." Jothan said which was met with nods. "Do you think any friends you have would be able to help us?"

"There was that Shinnosuke guy, but his power isn't really offensive… it's more so support." Josiah suggested. "I'll give you his number later. Is there anything on your end?"

"We've been working with an American mercenary who has ties with the government to take her down. He was responsible for her original arrest."

Josiah tilted his head. "Really? What's his name?"

"Kubrick. Clark Kubrick."

* * *

Clark Kubrick strolled out from the airport entrance with two suitcases in hand, his short grey hair moving slightly in the wind. He had been rather well built, not stocky in the slightest and even stood as tall as six feet and four inches, having to duck to force his way into the door of a taxi.

Clark had been wearing a beige jacket which covered the black muscle shirt underneath, with a pair of brown khakis to go with the same colored leather shoes. He sat his luggage on the floor and crossed one leg over the other, pulling what looked to be a photo from his jacket pocket.

_This time, I won't be such a fool._


End file.
